LA Trail Hikers

LOCATION UPDATE (8/16): We’ll be just left of Lifeguard Tower 22 @ Bolsa Chica State Beach.

Summer is here, and LA Trail Hikers are ready to enjoy  a day in the sun.  We’ll be taking a day off trails to celebrate the accomplishments of our LATH hikers with an all day beach party! This event starts early in the morning for some good swimming/sunbathing, and continues through the night for a great evening with a bonfire. Some hikers spend all day with us, and others come for part of the day or night. And best of all, it’s a potluck style event, so bring any good food and beverages to share with everyone!

SOCIAL EVENT: LA Trail Hikers – Beach Party 2014

EVENT DATE: August 16, 2014

EVENT TIME: 8:00am – 10pm (All Day Event)

LIFE GUARD TOWER #: 22 (Just left of it)
Make sure to stay to your right as you enter the beach.

MEETING POINT:
Bolsa Chica State Beach
Life Guard Tower # 22 (on the left side)
17851 E Pacific Coast Hwy
Huntington Beach, CA 92649

The entrance to the beach is on Pacific Coast Highway, about one and a half miles south of Warner Avenue.
Bolsa Chica State Beach is slightly south of Seal Beach and north of Huntington Beach.

EVENT DESCRIPTION: The sun is out and the LA Trail Hiker are ready for their 2014 Beach Party! Join us to enjoy the wonderful combination of great food, friends and families at Bolsa Chica State Beach! This event is open to all our LATH Hikers.

EVENT RSVP:  Let us know you’re be attending! RSVP via FB at:
https://www.facebook.com/latrailhikers/events

POTLUCK INFO: This is a potluck-style event so bring a dish and drinks to share with others.  Bringing something to the beach party?  If you have any portable cooking tools/Propane BBQ Grills (no charcoal grills), please feel free to bring them. Keep in mind that people like to volunteer to cook around the clock. NO ALCOHOL ALLOWED. Let us know what goodies you’ll be bringing by putting your name and the items in the following form:

POTLUCK SIGNUP FORM
Bringing something?  Let us know: http://bit.ly/q9bGTB

 

BEACH GEAR: So what should you take with you? It’s very important that you bring a chair and don’t forget your beach towels and a sweater for later that night. You’ll want to have plenty of sunscreen and other beach-related items. However, we recommend you taking any of the following to make your day/evening at the beach a great experience:

• Sunscreen – You’ll be glad we reminded you.
• Water – Keep in mind you’ll probably get thirsty and may want to have some around.
• Beach Chairs – You’ll use these plenty for enjoying a relaxing beach day/night
• Beach Blankets – When you want soak some sun, take an after-swim nap, or take a break from sitting/standing.
• Towels/Swimwear – Think ahead and prepare for some fun in the water.
• Coolers/Insulated Lunch Boxes – If you plan on bringing some food/refreshments that need to stay cold, you might consider bringing one.
• Beach/River Sandals – You may want to get into the water but with foot protection, so these may come in handy.
• Sports Equipment – Bicycle, Football, Hula Hoops, Volleyball & net, and any other type of fun sports equipment you might want to share.
• Beach Umbrellas – Keeps you under the shade.
• Plastic Bag – Keep your wet clothes separate.
• Throws/Blankets – Later in the evening you may want to cozy up with a blanket as it will get cold at night.
• Sweaters/Long Pants – Again, it does get colder later in the evening. Keep yourself warm.
• Firewood – Have any extra wood laying around? Bring some for our fire pit.
• BBQ/Cooking Utensils – Do you have portable cookware? We’ll need some where to cook those burgers.
• No enclosed tents, ez-ups and open tarps only. 
• Other Recommendations? – Post them on our FB Event page.

BEACH PARKING LOT FEE: $15.00 per vehicle (9 persons or less per vehicle).  $20.00 for over-sized vehicles. It is best to arrive prior to 10 am to get good parking. It gets very crowded this time of year, so if you don’t want to spend hours waiting in line and trying to find parking, it is advised that you come early or later in the evening, not midday.  If you come after, you may get locked out out of a full parking lot. And they will only allow people in once a number of people have left. So please get there earlier in the day.

DOG FRIENDLY?: Not really. No Dogs on sand, they can be on a leash on paved multi-use trail (bike path) only. We recommend leaving your pets at home, or with a designated caretaker while you’re at this event.

BOLSA CHICA STATE BEACH INFO:

• http://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=642

DISCLAIMER: LA Trail Hikers and its Leads/Organizers/Participants do not take responsibility for any harm,bodily injury, accidents, or damage to personal property. By attending the event, you confirming that you understand that all outdoor activity such as bicycling, swimming, and all other beach activity may have an associated danger, and will not hold any hike lead/organizer, participant, LA Trail Hikers, or any group associated pet responsible for any hazard to your well being. We are not responsible for any loss or personal injury.

MAP: 

NEW! LATH HIKES LIST FOR SEP & OCT: http://latrailhikers.com/2014/09/01/september-october-2014-lath-hikes/

Back in early 2008, a couple of friends engaged in a conversation that resulted in the talks about a waterfall hike out by Arcadia (Sturtevant Falls). One of those friends, Jason Bazalar, found an interest in going to see this waterfall he had never been to. And, to his delight, the other friend more than obliged to take him there for a hike. This small talk would eventually spark an invitation to friends for a series of ongoing hikes within the greater Los Angeles area. The email list requests came in and grew as more and more people found out about the group. It grew to a point where a simple website was created to keep everyone in the loop rather than having to add and email everyone.  The recreation of the group became quite consistent and it became a great way to pursue a healthier lifestyle. This small group eventually climb to a whooping 7 trails that were rotated on Sundays throughout the rest of the year.  After noticing what other hiking groups in the area had been doing (and participating in some of them too), it became clear that  this group felt comfortable enough to try and expand the idea of taking locals into their own L.A. backyards for hikes, while giving them a good reason to be physically active. The team needed to have a name, and the brainstorming began. Some ideas floated, and finally one was derived from all the ideas present. And, on August 17, 2009, the small group of hiking enthusiasts would become the group we all know today as the LA Trail Hikers. At the next hike that followed, Jason, who had been coordinating the hiking events from the beginning, and now founder of the group, announced to the group, “As of today, we are the LA Trail Hikers.” Since then, the group has seen many seasons of hikers, hike leads, and followers admire and participate with the group. At no point was it believed that it would be the strong and inspiring group that it is today. And, as many of you know, this group’s name has become synonymous with hiking in Los Angeles. On August 17, 2014, we’ll celebrating our 5th year anniversary as the LA Trail Hikers (aka LATH). We would like to make sure you’re part of it all by joining us on some great hikes. The LATH Hike Leads have been able to arrange a great set of hikes for the months of July and August, including our annual LATH Beach Party in Bolsa Chica State park to help us kick off our 5 year anniversary celebration.  We hope you’re able to make it to many of our hiking events. We thank you for your continued support and appreciate all the love you’ve shown for this little hiking group that could. Without further ado, we present our July & August 2014 LATH Hikes List.

BEFORE YOU CLICK ON A HIKE DETAILS PAGE BELOW, PLEASE NOTE: The hike information on each page may not be up to date with regards to its meeting info/date/time it was linked from. However, it will display (or be created with) the correct information (date, times, and assigned hike lead) as the hike approaches its scheduled date. It does take some work to update these, so we work on the ones with closer upcoming dates first. If a hike has multiple upcoming dates (typically Wednesday night hikes), only the most upcoming date (and info) will be displayed, and will be updated accordingly.

HIKE LIST KEY:
Canceled Hike, Event, or Information
Added or Replacement Hike or Detail
* = New LATH Hike or Special Event (Information may be pending, if so, will be linked at a later date)

JULY

Wed – Jul 02 – Level 5 – Griffith Park – Merry Go Round – 7:00 PM
Thu – Jul 03 – Level 3 – Will Rodgers State Park – 8:30 AM
Fri – Jul 04 – Level 4 – Griffith Park – Merry Go Round – 6:30 PM
Sat – Jul 05 – Level 3 – Pointe Dume State Beach – 8:00 AM
Sun – Jul 06 – Level 2 – Rose Bowl – 9:00 AM
Mon – Jul 07 – Level 5 – Winter Creek – 8:00 AM
Wed – Jul 09 – Level 5 – Griffith Park – Vermont – 7:00 PM
Thu – Jul 10 – Level 4 – Marshall Canyon – 8:30 AM
Sat – Jul 12 – Level 4 – Amir’s Garden + Gardening Maintenance – 8:00 AM
Sun – Jul 13 – Level 4 – Fish Canyon Falls – 8:00 AM
Wed – Jul 16 – Level 5 – Griffith Park – Merry Go Round – 7:00 PM
Sat – Jul 19 – Level 5 – Mt. Rubidoux – 8:00 AM
Sun – Jul 20 – Level 5 – Echo Mountain – 7:30 AM

Wed – Jul 23 – Level 5 – Griffith Park – Merry Go Round – 7:00 PM
Fri – Jul 25 – Level 5 – Mt. Rubidoux – 8:00 AM  7:00 AM –  (Added to List)
Sat – Jul 26 – Level 5 – Brown Mountain Dam* – 7:00 AM – (Canceled)
Sat – Jul 26 – Level 4 – Marshall Canyon – 8:00 AM – (Replacement Hike)
Sun – Jul 27 – Level 3 – Monrovia Canyon Falls – 8:00 AM
Wed – Jul 30 – Level 5 – Griffith Park – Vermont – 7:00 PM
Thu – Jul 31 – Level 6 – Griffith Park – Merry Go Round – 6:30 PM (Canceled, No Replacement)

AUGUST

Sat – Aug 02 – Level 4 – Ernest Debs Park – 8:00 AM
Sun – Aug 03 – Level 1 – Ascot Hills – 8:00 AM
Wed – Aug 06 – Level 5 – Griffith Park – Merry Go Round – 7:00 PM
Fri – Aug 08 – Level 10 – Catalina Island via Two Harbors* – 8:00 AM  8:30AM
Sat – Aug 09 – Level 5 – Hollywood Sign – 8:00 AM
Sun – Aug 10 – Level 3 – Monrovia Canyon Falls – 8:00 AM
Wed – Aug 13 – Level 4 – Griffith Park – Merry Go Round – 7:00 PM
Sat – Aug 16 – LATH Beach Party @ Bolsa Chica State Beach* – 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM
Sun – Aug 17 – Level 5 – Griffith Park – Merry Go Round  (LATH 5 Year Anniversary) – 5:00 PM
Wed – Aug 20 – Level 3 – Griffith Park – Vermont – 7:00 PM
Thu – Aug 21 – Level 6 – Griffith Park – Merry Go Round – 6:30 PM (Canceled, No Replacement)

Sat – Aug 23 – Level 5 – Winter Creek – 6:00 AM
Sun – Aug 24 – Level 4 – Whitter – 4:00 PM
Wed – Aug 27 – Level 5 – Griffith Park – Merry Go Round – 7:00 PM
Sat – Aug 30 – Level 2 – Lower Arroyo Seco – 10:00 AM
Sun – Aug 31 – Level 4 – El Prieto Canyon – 7:30 AM

NEW LATH HIKES LIST FOR SEP & OCT: http://latrailhikers.com/2014/09/01/september-october-2014-lath-hikes/

WHAT IS A HIKING LEVEL?:
Please make sure to gauge yourself based on the hike’s difficulty level by looking at our Hike Level descriptions.
Find out more about hiking levels here:
http://latrailhikers.com/about/hike-levels/

HIKE CANCELLATION NOTE: Should any hike need to be cancelled (due to heavy rain or other reasons), we’ll try to post on our website’s hike’s detail page and on our Facebook page, about 1 .5 hours prior to the meeting point, so you are aware. Otherwise, the hike is considered a go.

ADDITIONAL HIKE NOTES:
– Weekend hikes are primarily in the morning unless otherwise indicated.
– All hikes are subject to change, cancellation or other modifications. We may even add in additional hikes that may not appear on the original posting.
– We try to schedule 2-3 months worth of hikes so we always have a fresh new set every so often.

FOLLOW LATH ONLINE
The LATH Digital Team has begun working on our social media accounts to help keep you updated on upcoming LATH hikes/events, provide outdoor news/updates, share fun pictures, and help answer your hiking questions. So make sure you follow us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/latrailhikers
Twitter: https://twitter.com/latrailhikers
Instagram: http://instagram.com/latrailhikers
Google+: https://plus.google.com/+LATrailHikers
Tumblr: http://latrailhikers.tumblr.com

2014 GRAND CANYON ROAD TRIP HIKE (UPDATE)
The Grand Canyon Road Trip Hike has been set for the morning of:  Saturday, October 11, 2014

We’ve setup a page to start getting you ready for this Road Trip. Visit it here:
http://latrailhikers.com/hikes/road-trip-hikes/grand-canyon-south-rim/

HOW DO I PARTICIPATE WITH THE GROUP ON THESE HIKES?
1. Read the details page for the hike you’re interested in.
2. Make sure that the Hike Level accommodates your hiking experience.
3. If, and only if it suits you, then (optional: RSVP via Facebook for the event and) show up the day of the hike with all necessary gear and water (we mention everything you need on each details page per hike).

MY FRIEND SAID I CAN DO THIS HIKE, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO DO IT, RIGHT?
We take your safety quite seriously, and would not like for you to attend a hike you’re not ready for.  You know your body and hiking experience better than your friends. Whether you are a first-timer or an experienced hiker, please read our hike details page as the hike may not suite your experience level. We have a better experience if every hike has hikers of the intended level.

DISCLAIMER: LA Trail Hikers and its Leads/Organizers/Volunteers/Participants do not take responsibility for any harm,bodily injury, accidents, or damage to personal property. By clicking “Attending,” or attending the hike, you confirming that you understand that all outdoor activity such as hiking, backpacking, and trekking have an associated danger, and will not hold any hike lead/organizer, participant, LA Trail Hikers, or any group associated pet responsible for any hazard to your well being. Additionally, you will not be allowed to participate with the group if you are not adequately prepared with enough water and the right gear/equipment/nutrition essential to complete the hike. You are fully responsible for yourself.